30 May 2019
Who does this notice affect?
Importers, approved arrangements, freight forwarders and brokers that deal with imported cut flowers and foliage
What has changed?
Since Australia’s import conditions for fresh cut flowers and foliage changed in March 2018, the number of live pests arriving at the border has remained unacceptably high.
As a result, from 1 September 2019, the department will require the use of import permits to bring shipments of cut flowers and foliage to Australia from countries that have very high non-compliance rates using a systems approach and high volumes of trade.
We will notify importers on 1 July 2019 if permits will be required to bring shipments to Australia from countries they source from.
Importers can apply for permits in our BICON system from 1 July 2019. Submitting your application on or around this date will allow time for us to assess the application and grant a permit for use from 1 September.
Permit applications must include details of how your proposed supply chain management system (SCMS) will reduce pest loads arriving in Australia. The risk controls you propose must not include those already required by the exporting country’s National Plant and Protection Organisation. See our guide to developing a supply chain management system for details of our requirements.
Initial permits will be valid for four months.
We had previously advised that we would be removing the systems approach option from highly non-compliant, high volume countries in July 2019. This timeframe has been extended to 1 September following feedback from exporting countries and industry.
Further information
More information about changes to importing cut flowers and foliage to Australia from 1 September 2019 is available at agriculture.gov.au/cut-flowers
For importing enquiries please phone 1800 900 090 (when prompted press 1 and then 1 again) or email Imports.